MySQL and SAP - License change [LWN.net]

MySQL and SAP - License change

Posted May 30, 2003 1:45 UTC (Fri) by zone (guest, #3633)
In reply to: MySQL and SAP - License change by linuxbox
Parent article: MySQL and SAP

"Imagine if Linux were free to use "as is," but required commercial licenses from Linus when you wanted to use it in connection with non-GPL'd software."

You are confusing the issues of using non-free software and bundling non-free software. You are not required to purchase a MySQL license to use non-free software "in connection" with MySQL; the GPL guarantees your right to do that. If you read the MySQL licensing policy, you'll see that you only need a commercial license when you _directly bundle_ MySQL with your non-GPL application, i.e. producing a non-free/semi-free application. You are free to distribute your non-GPL application for use with MySQL, as long as you don't include the MySQL server or a MySQL driver with it.

"While the FSF might consider Linux more free in that case, in practice, there would be no mainstream use of Linux under those licensing provisions."

Actually, the FSF would consider that _less_ free. It wouldn't really be Free if you could only use the software in conjunction with other free software.

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MySQL and SAP - License change

Posted Jun 5, 2003 7:53 UTC (Thu) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]

Unfortunatelly you are wrong. You can not link mysql client libraries in your application if it's not GPL-licensed - for example PHP: right now PHP includes it's own old version of libmysql and thus not in violation but if you'll link PHP and last version of libmysql from MySQL 4.1.x you'll be in violation of GPL. I do not think it was intent to make PHP unable to use recent versions of libmysql but that's what we have now!